Untitled Star Wars
by KateKannibal
Summary: A couple begins a new life together only to be disrupted by Darth Caedus. They must fight, but the enemy does not die. A marriage is cut short by living dead, and what's left for one who has loved and lost other than the dark side?


"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Emille asked as she flattened the lace of the gown.

"Yes mother. There isn't anyone else I'd rather be with." Emille nodded and looked proudly at Rika. Sounds of women chatting bounced off of the opaque walls and Rika tuned them out as she placed the silver clip studded with diamonds into the golden curls that cascaded down her back. The wedding was the first in this area of the galaxy since Darth Caedus had attacked. Rika and Karvor had become famous nearly overnight and the wedding cheered up the residents of the city.

Rika took a deep breath before turning to the mirror to examine herself for the first time in her gown. Her usually messy hair had been forced into curls that seemed to move in time with her body. The diamonds in the clip danced with the light shining in the room. The gown was simple, with lacework of flowers at the waist and vines with leaves flowing down the skirt, almost as if the gown had grown itself. The bodice was laced tightly to her back and contoured her small frame. The front glittered with small silver gems.

Her mother walked up beside her and looked at her daughter's reflection. "When did you grow into such a beautiful woman? Only yesterday you were in brown Jedi robes fighting for our city." Rika smiled, and her green eyes became crinkled around the edges. "You'd better not blink, mother. This will all be gone by tomorrow. Nothing more but browns again. It will seem like a dream." Emille shook her head. "I know."

A knock at the door drew silence from all of the women, their bodies becoming as still as if time had stopped them in their last breath. "I hope she's ready! It's time to begin" said the voice on the other side of the door. The chattering exploded again. The ladies rushed to Rika's side to ensure all was ready. They prodded at her dress and fluffed her curls. Rika shifted amongst the frantic bodies. "I'm fine ladies! Just let me get to the door." The women nodded, still chattering. A way was cleared towards the door and Emille opened it for her. An older man in black robes stood beside the open door and smiled at Rika. He reached his hand out for her and she placed hers in his. "You look beautiful in white. The brown could never do you as much justice as this." Rika looked to her father.

"You're looking pretty beautiful yourself." He laughed and Rika noticed how his green eyes crinkled just like hers.

"Now Daine," Emille chided, "don't you give her a hard time! This is her day." Emille chided her husband. He just winked at his daughter and pulled her towards the open doors of the small chapel.

Soft music began to play and everything was still except for the thumping of Rika's heart. She took a deep breath and nodded to her father. As they began the slow walk down the aisle, Rika finally looked at her groom. His tall slender body was cloaked in black satin robes. He wore a large smile on his face; Rika had never imagined a smile could stretch that far. She blushed and looked toward the guests. They were all standing and beaming at her. Different hues of red, green, and blue were arranged around her making the white of her gown seem even brighter. Her father gave her hand a squeeze then let go and retreated back down the aisle to stand by his wife. She realized then that she was alone and her heart missed a beat before another hand took hers. She followed the trail of satin enveloping his body up to the face of her love. He gently pulled her towards him and for a moment she thought her legs might not work, but she was standing in front of Karvor before she knew her body had moved at all. The big smile seemed to be permanently etched into his beautiful features and she couldn't help but smile back. The priest nodded to both of them and they look to him, ready to give their vows. Rika spoke the words in a trance induced by the bliss of standing with Karvor at the beginning of forever.

They walked between clapping hands and flushed cheeks showering them with cheers and congratulations. Their Jedi friends stood intermixed in the crowd using the Force to shower the couple in rice. A Luxury Yacht 3000 rested ahead of them with sunlight glinting off of its silver body. As they approached, the couple stopped and kissed once more. The crowd cheered louder and the two walked up the ramp. Everyone watched them disappear inside and as the ramp closed, the voices began to diminish. Rika rested her head against Karvor's chest and he kissed her curls while pulling her closer.

A silver droid approached them and swayed as if it might fall over before speaking. "Hello. I am XK-25. Congratulations on your bonding experience. I do hope that it was to your pleasure." The couple laughed and nodded.

"Yes, it was lovely, thank you." Rika replied.

"Very well, miss. If you would, please follow me and I will show you to your quarters." The droid turned before receiving affirmation and they followed hand in hand.

A door slid open to reveal a large room with dark purple walls, a white leather couch facing a holonet, and a Wampa rug; lights glowed dully on the walls. "The bedroom is to your left, with a door leading to the bathing facilities inside the bedroom on your right. If you require anything, do not hesitate to ask." The droid turned and exited. Rika, excited for the night to come, went straight for the bedroom.

The room was a lighter shade of purple, with a matching blanket atop the oversized bed. Karvor slid his arms around her waist from behind and she put her hands over his. He began to undo the ties on the back of her gown. Her heart fluttered and she realized her hands were clammy. The gown fell in a soft swish around her ankles and goosebumps erupted across her body. Karvor brushed his lips against her neck and she exhaled sharply. He began leading her to the bed, kissing her passionately as they went. He pushed her gently onto the purple sheets and -The comlink in his pocket buzzed. He pulled away to answer it. "This is Karvor speaking." There was enough static that she couldn't hear what the other side was saying, but he was unable to mask his annoyance. Rika watched as his face became serious and she wondered who he was talking to. "Yes sir. Can Rika come as well? You know this is a special night. Right away." He clicked the comlink off and stood motionless.

"Master Hamner is calling me on a mission. Darth Caedus has apparently begun something on the planet Babali and Hamner wants me to investigate. He says it's high priority and that I have to leave as quickly as possible. A team has been put together and we're all told to be ready to meet at the entrance to the Jedi temple in two hours."

"But what about me?" Rika asked. "Am I not in this group?"

Karvor ran a hand through his hair. "Unfortunately, no. But I have asked Hamner if he will allow you to come since they're ruining our night. He did not answer yes or no, but said to have you come along to the temple. I suppose he can't make that decision himself."

She rose from the bed hoping she was hiding her disappointment, but Karvor easily read her emotions and embraced her.

"I'm sorry my love. I didn't want this to happen."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him. "I know, but it's always Jedi business first. It's what Master Skywalker has said. We cannot let our love get in the way of our responsibilities to the galaxy." Karvor nodded in agreement. "I'll call for the droid to have the ship landed." He gave her one last squeeze before returning to packing as she pushed the ships comlink button.

Rika stood beside Karvor, panting heavily from the long fight. Her arms trembled from the constant impact of her blade connecting with flesh and bone. If the Force had not been with them, she knew they would not have made it this far. The guttural growls and screams from their enemies emanated all around them against the dark cavern walls and had long since forced its way into her head, leaving her mind in a state of constant worry of enemies behind the next corner. Darvin, their youngest member who still had his ponytail, whisked his green saber through the neck of one of the long since dead members of the planet. Caedus stood behind his line of undead and laughed at the Jedi's struggles, all too pleased with himself. Aethna, a spirited Zabrak, glared at the man as she finished off the last of the oncoming enemies who were attacking from the left. Jina and Jack, the Kroan twins, called out that the area behind the group was secure. Rika had not expected her honeymoon to become a journey of fighting for her life, and she wished Karvor hadn't answered his comlink.

The group stood together, their lightsabers shining a sickly glow into the eyes of the dead standing before them. Karvor wrapped his arm around Rika's waist and gave her a quick squeeze. "Don't forget how much I love you." She glanced at him with a hint of panic.

"Don't say it as if you plan on dying here today! Don't you dare!" Rika clenched the hilt of her saber with white knuckles and stared straight ahead at the enemy trying to keep her focus on the mission. She didn't want to think about any of the team not making it out of this safely. They could do it, they just all needed to focus. And how hard could it be to destroy the undead?

"Are you Jedi so foolish to stand against them, against me? You've never encountered them before, never heard of them. How do you plan on defeating something you know nothing about?" Caedus smiled devilishly at them. None answered him; they just stood straighter and prepared for defense. "Very well. I see you all still lack the proper thought skills needed to understand your pitiful light side cannot protect you against the dark side." The undead lurched forward as one and began an attack much faster than before. Jina and Jack took steps back and the others could feel them waiver in the Force. "Keep together everyone! We can make this!" Rika shouted over the gurgling moans of the undead. The horde grew larger as bodies came from all around. The Jedi withdrew into a circle formation and awaited the moment of attack.

Aethna, filled with high determination, attacked first. She plunged her saber into the neck of a decaying Babalian native woman who did not notice the burning of her flesh, and finished the job with an upper slice through the center of the head. Another native took the place of the last and Aethna ducked to avoid the swipe of its hand while slicing the body in two at its waist. She Force pushed three more into the wall of the cavern and decapitated the still moving upper half of the other native. "It shouldn't be this difficult to kill something already dead." She mumbled to herself in frustration. Darth Caedus laughed at their struggles and Aethna, angered at his laughter, plunged her saber into the undead with renewed force.

Rika and Karvor worked together to take on a larger group of undead that had crawled out of a hole in the side of the cavern. The undead rushed them all at once and Rika threw her saber at the group, lobbing off arms and heads as it spun through them and back to her waiting hand. The attack didn't faze the group who still had their heads and they never slowed their pace. Rika looked to Karvor in wonder and horror and he looked back in puzzlement. "I don't know why they don't seem to stop!" He shouted. Rika nodded in agreement before screaming, "Behind you on the ceiling!" She tried to Force push them away from Karvor, but they somehow had gained more momentum and were gone from the spot before the push hit them. Karvor leaped backwards in time to miss the chomping teeth, but a hand caught his shoe and he quickly used the force to release his foot from the shoe. Rika, let out a rattled sigh and realized she had held her breath through the moment. With a new vigor, she stabbed an enemy in its left eye socket and pushed the body away with a kick. She swung her blade through the waists of two more bodies and yelled, "Karvor, stay to help the team! I'm going after Caedus." Before beginning her slow ascent to the Sith. Karvor's heart flopped in his chest as worry for his wife skyrocketed. He took a deep breath and sent himself calm through the Force before a guttural howl sounded behind him. He whipped his saber around and caught the midriff of an undead man. Unable to keep his balance from the quick attack, Karvor fell beneath the severed body and the snapping jowls of the man sent flecks of clotted blood spraying against his face. He closed his eyes, unable to take the closeness of the rotting face. The weight of the body disappeared as it was thrown away by a Force push from Aethna. She nodded in his direction and he returned the nod, thankful that she was on their side. He had never worked with a Zabrak before, and was thankful that the stories of their determination and resourcefulness were true.

Karvor sat upright and stared at the decomposing bodies strewn about him and watched the fights between the Jedi and undead. He watched Rika battling her way towards Caedus, who had finally seen her advancement and was retreating. Caedus seemed uninterested in fighting for himself this time. Karvor finally stood and turned his lightsaber off. There were few enemies left alive and the rest of the team had it all under control. He decided to watch and if any of them needed his aid, he would jump in.

Jina and Jack, using the Force to keep their minds more closely knitted, seemed melded into one as their green and purple sabers moved with each other and sliced through the last bodies of undead. Even without legs, the bodies crawled towards them, howling in a fleshy hunger. The twin's fear finally knocked them out of their Force bond and they wavered for a short second. The others felt it and saw the undead reacting to the pause quickly. Karvor, the closest to them, moved in to attack, but without his saber lit, he had very little defense. His arm moved too far up and the chomping mouth of an undead native man clamped down upon his forearm and they fell to the ground in a heap. He bit his tongue to silence his cry of pain.

Aethna rushed over to his side and cleaved the head of the undead into four clean chunks. He pulled the sleeve of his robe up and looked at the bite. An almost perfect circle of teeth marks were dripping blood to the cavern floor. The twins quickly finished off the rest of the undead, and Rika Force leaped to his side; Caedus forgotten. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you. So sorry." Rika sobbed and tenderly held his arm in hers.

"It's okay, you didn't know this would happen, and we don't know what happens after this either. What's going to become of me?" Karvor looked at the four members, dirt and sweat mingled on their skin. Rika shook her head, unable to say anything as the tears dripped from her face. Aethna, more reserved than the rest, looked at Karvor with sympathy and spoke in a quiet tone, "If my assumptions are correct, you have most likely been infected with the same illness the poor natives have gotten. Unless you wish to share in their fate, we will need to kill you." Rika sobbed harder and Jina rested a hand on her shoulder. Karvor nodded, "Very well. Do it quickly while I'm still myself, please." He winced as a throb of pain shot up his arm. He could feel the illness, or whatever it was, creeping through his veins. Never had he been so terrified. Aethna asked, "Rika, would you like to do it? It must be done soon, he will not last long." Rika shook her head. "Even if my emotions were stable and my head clear, I couldn't. I didn't even get to spend a week with him!"

"Rika," Karvor spoke her name softly and she looked at his face. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to spend my life with you. Keep your faith in the light, and remember me always." He lifted her hand with his good arm and kissed it. "Now go, so you'll remember me as I am now." Jina helped her walk to another part of the cavern and Aethna activated her saber; the hum of the blade the only sound in the room. With a flick of her wrist, she cut his head off.

Jack fell to his knees and clutched at this chest. He began to cry in a way Aethna hadn't heard before. "What is wrong?" She asked.

"Jina! She's - she's gone. I can't feel her presence!"

The two ran to the part of the cavern where they last saw Rika and Jina. As they came around a curve, they found her; body still and eyes vacant. A cauterized wound at her heart still smoked with the smell of burnt flesh. They tried to find Rika through the Force, but she was nowhere to be found.


End file.
